December 17, 2003
The Gift
I've made a lot of friends doing this magazine over the years. I received a gift a couple months ago from one such friend.
It is the "season" of gift-giving right now... You know that feeling you get when you get a gift from a friend that you hadn't already bought one for? You wonder if you should reciprocate and you've got to figure out what to give them. This phenomenon, which we'll call the "Mandatory Reciprocation Theory," has haunted more than its fair share of fine folks -- even those listeners of Kerrang! Internet Radio. (okay, too many details)
My friend had told me that he had something cool for me...for a few months. At one point he asked me, "If you had to choose, who would you choose between Roger Staubach or Troy Aikman?" A tough choice, but it clued me in to what this mystery gift could possibly be. I've seen brochures in fine stores about special gifts, which include allowing someone to race cars, skydive, etc. Those are extravagent gifts, to be sure. But, in my world, so is this gift from my friend in Dallas. It was one of those fine white footballs with a big navy Cowboys logo and a big star emblazoned on it, along with a personal autograph from Roger the Dodger -- all in a nice acrylic case.
What can I say? This gift was extravagant. How can I possibly match it? It was such a cool gift, there's almost no way in the world to match it. In the same way that I graciously received his gift with no expectations or obligations, he would no doubt do the same to any gift that I bestowed upon him.
Okay, okay. You may have seen this a mile away just with the title up above. So, I don't even have to point out that God Himself gave us an incredibly extravagant gift in His Son, Jesus the Messiah. Freely given with no obligations, no "Mandatory Reciprocation." Amazing. Wow.
HM Magazine: New content coming soon. The Jan/Feb issue was mailed out late last week and should be arriving soon. The site should feature an exclusive and raw Q&A interview with members of P.O.D. as well as a brilliant article on the end of Five Iron Frenzy. Lord willing, by the end of this week, or first thing next week, you'll see all of this.
